Forum: Post Your Photos!
6 Hours Ago
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
15 Hours Ago
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Mariko Juku was a post town on the old Edo period Tokaido highway between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. Chojiya was established in 1596 at the end of the Sengoku (Warring States) Period and served a stew made with yam called Toro-jiru. I have wanted to see this place for years, because it features in Hiroshige's 52 Stations of the Tokaido ukiyoe series, and is one of the few places still in existence from that time. You can
still have a meal of the Tororo-jiru which it has been making for 428 years.
On the right side is a reproduction of the Ukiyoe image of the restaurant by Hiroshige.
Mariko Chojiya by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
Full HD on Flickr ---------- Post added 28-03-24 at 10:30 PM ----------
Poem by Jippensha Ikku by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
けんくハする夫婦ハ
口をとがらして
鳶とろろに
すべりとそすれ
The fighting couple pout
as they slip and slide
In the Tororo-jiru
Jippensha Ikku
Tokaido Hizakurige
A Walking Tour of the Tokaido
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
20 Hours Ago
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Thanks Mike! They sure do, but they're not cheap, and most Japanese wages are poor due to growth being stagnant for so long. Even so, quite a lot of people do commute by Shinkansen, even by Nozomi. I wish we could get a single line from Melbourne to Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane using E5 technology for a 320 kmh top speed. Sadly, I don't think it will happen; right now, plane flights are competitive in cost, and that shouldn't be the case. Also, no politicians think long term anymore. They're too focussed on retaining government, and that means short sightedness. :(
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Forum: Lens Clubs
1 Day Ago
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Fair enough! My main spot for waterbirds is fairly small, so it's really hard to catch the birds in flight.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
1 Day Ago
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Thanks Loris! The record for the fastest conventional train (wheels on steel rails) in regular service appears to have been taken by a Chinese HST at 350 kmh. The Tohoku line has the highest operational speed in Japan at 320 kmh. They're testing a new train at up to 450 kmh with the intention of raising the regular service to a maximum of 360 kmh. I've ridden high speed trains in Europe, but they didn't compare to the regular services and precision timing of the Shinkansen.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
1 Day Ago
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Well done catching that in challenging lighting conditions!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
1 Day Ago
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
1 Day Ago
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Thank you! It looks a bit dull on my computer at work, but then the train was in shade not direct sunlight. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
1 Day Ago
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The newest bullet train in Japan is the N700S-8000 Kamome. It runs from Takeo Onsen to Nagasaki.
Kamome Shinkansen by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
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Forum: Lens Clubs
2 Days Ago
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Sharpness and DOF are fantastic! Little Wattlebirds are really hard to catch. Well done! ---------- Post added 27-03-24 at 11:18 AM ---------- Hope that full width is OK in a thread like this.
Cessna 560 Citation Encore by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
2 Days Ago
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Like the shot of the Sparrow singing! In Australia, the expression seems to be BLBB or BSBB. :D
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
2 Days Ago
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Wow! What an amazing thing to see! Thanks for sharing! ---------- Post added 27-03-24 at 10:07 AM ----------
So sharp - the detail in the eyes is fascinating!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
2 Days Ago
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Seconded - love the shot with the moon!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
2 Days Ago
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| Machinery Enoden
Posted By
RobG |
Replies: 8
Views: 196 | |
Thanks! If it's not super busy, it's an enjoyable ride to just stay on the Enoden at least from Kamakura (where it meets the JR Yokosuka line) and Enoshima station, because it winds through the town and along the edge of the bay. I think the narrowest sections and the road sections are between Enoshima and Fujisawa though. The line was made popular with manga and anime fans because it appears in popular series like "Slam Dunk". Enoshima has also appeared in a lot of manga and anime because it's a popular beach spot in summer for people in the Tokyo region. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
2 Days Ago
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Thank you! The second shot was more for the train enthusiasts because it shows the type of train and the specific train set. I'll have to take a video clip which shows how the doors make the side of the train smooth when they close.
Thanks! The Tokaido line 700 series has had a "duckbill" on the end cars for a while, and it's resulted in the mascot for the Osaka region trains being a Platypus (kamonohashi or duck bill in Japanese). The nose design services a lot of purposes but you're right, one of the main things is noise reduction. I believe that the biggest noise issue is when the trains enter tunnels at high speed; the compression makes a sound like a gunshot. The higher speed trains on the Tohoku line have a much longer nose, and they're experimenting with designs to find an optimal one for up to 400 kmh. I'm surprised that high speed trains in Europe haven't evolved similar designs.
Below is the H5 which I took to Hokkaido on a previous trip, and you can see the E2 in the background for comparison. The top speed in production of the H5 is 320 kmh. I think it's replacement will operate at up to 360 kmh. The N700S has been tested at 360 kmh, but the gain from increasing the speed on the Tokaido line is probably restricted by the effect on the timing of the three types of service (Kodama, Hikari and Nozomi). The newest Shinkansen is the Nagasaki line, which uses a version of the N700. There's also an extension to the Hokuriku line which now goes to Tsuruga and will eventually meet the Tokaido line at Kyoto.
H5 and E2 Shinkansen by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
I'll post a picture of the new Nagasaki Shinkansen later. Next time I go to Japan, I need to ride the Kyushu 800 series, which I think is the only operational Shinkansen that I haven't travelled on. :lol:
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
2 Days Ago
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Thank you! I love the way that the train tapers into the distance - 16 cars will do that! :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
2 Days Ago
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| Machinery Enoden
Posted By
RobG |
Replies: 8
Views: 196 | |
Thanks! I'm amazed that I managed to hold the camera steady enough for a half second exposure in the second image. :lol:
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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Thanks Mike! I have video from the recent trip which I'll put online. :) The smoothest ride I've had on a Japanese bullet train would be either the H5 to Hokkaido or the W7 to Kanazawa. I remember the first time I got on an E5; I was sorting out my luggage and looked up to find that the train was already moving, and didn't realise it had left the station!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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Thanks! It's fun being on a platform like this one where only the Kodama stops, because you get to see the Nozomi and Hikari trains (mostly 16 cars) roaring through at over 250 kmh. :) |
Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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Thanks Mike, me too! It was a rainy day, which helped reduce the contrast and improve saturation. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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Thanks! It's like she's looking down the stairs at you. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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Thank you Todd! It was a very comfortable ride. We got to see Mount Fuji on the way south - a good reason to sit on the inland side of the train between Shinagawa and Nagoya. :)
The Tokaido line now has free WiFi too, which is nice for both business people and travellers.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
3 Days Ago
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Nice! The birds I saw in Tokyo were on the opposite side of a large body of water.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
3 Days Ago
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N700S Supreme by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
Kodama 725 by RobGeraghty, on Flickr
My wife and I took Kodama 725 to Shizuoka. It turned out to be an N700S Supreme, the latest model on the Tokaido line between Tokyo and Osaka. Although the Kodama is the slowest Tokaido line service, it's top speed is exactly the same as the faster services; the Hikari and Nozomi. It is only slower because it stops at every station. In between stations, it gets to 285 kmh. The N700S has been tested at up to 360 kmh, but no trains in Japan currently operate at that speed. The fastest is the E5/H5 which reaches 320 kmh. This train set, J29, was made by Hitachi in 2022.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
4 Days Ago
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| Machinery Enoden
Posted By
RobG |
Replies: 8
Views: 196 | |
Thanks Tony! Enoden is certainly used by locals for their commuting, but I'd still call it light rail. Although these carriages look reminiscent of trams, the stations are much more like train stations, and only a small section of the line is shared with a road. Most of the involves a separate corridor with boom gates like a main line rail track. The old-fashioned look of Enoden makes it very popular with tourists, and I suspect that locals use the Shonan monorail as a preferred commuting line if they live close to it, but the eastern side of Kamakura would have to use Enoden to get to the JR Yokosuka line. The monorail connects to a bunch of lines at Ofuna including the Tokaido main line, while the western end of Enoden connects to some of the same lines at Fujisawa (but even further west).
I have a video of the monorail ride which I'll put on YouTube.
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